Work starts on site at "game-changing" £60m Leeds office building

Construction work has now started on site at 31 Wellington Street, the 80,000 sq ft Grade A Leeds office building opposite Wellington Place.
The £60m speculative development by Prescient Capital is replacing Wellington Plaza, which has been demolished.

Located at the junction of Wellington Street and Northern Street, the state-of-the-art nine-storey building is just a few minutes’ walk from Leeds train station. It will be completed and ready for occupation by the summer of next year.

Eamon Fox, office agency partner and head of global property consultancy Knight Frank’s Leeds office, who is advising Prescient Capital, commented: “This is a gamechanger for the Leeds office market, providing much needed and very timely quality office space to satisfy pent-up demand. As a result, we are quoting rents of £55 per sq. ft, in line with the general trajectory of office rents in Leeds.

“It is not surprising that we are already experiencing a high level of interest in this super prime building, as it is the only new building on-site scheme with live construction and certainty of delivery for 2027.
This is a significant differentiator from the other major developments in the city in the pipeline. Let’s remember, Prescient Capital is masterminding the first new-build office in Leeds since 2024.
“There is no doubt that 31 Wellington Street is going to be a magnificent building and a worthy addition to the thriving professional core in the West End of Leeds. We should all be very proud of both the vision and the courage of Prescient Capital to invest in Leeds at this vitally important time.”
Doug Friend, director of Prescient, explained: “As an adopted Yorkshireman, I have always been a massive supporter of the city of Leeds, having my office base here and the opportunity to develop a prime office building was too good to pass up.
“The combination of the quality of 31 Wellington Street, its superb location and the stark lack of Grade A office space made this development a compelling proposition. It is never an easy decision to embark on a speculative development but, in this case, the fundamentals are very sound.

“In the wake of Covid and the initial surge in working from home, the modern contemporary office must be of the highest standard, both in terms of quality space, ESG credentials, service and first-class facilities and amenities. 31 Wellington Street ticks all these boxes.

“For example, the top floor, which will boast panoramic views across the city, features a sky lounge for client entertaining and social events with the capacity for 150 guests. Meanwhile there are further amenities on the ground floor including a fitness suite, changing facilities and showers and secure cycle storage.
“At the same time, we are aiming for top ESG credentials, targeting EPC A, BREEAM Outstanding, Fitwell 3 Star, NABERS 5 star, and Wired score platinum.

“Each floor typically provides around 9,530 sq ft of best-in-class office space and features large floor-to-ceiling windows, flooding the space with natural light and giving it a bright, contemporary feel. The building also supports a healthy work-life balance, just a short walk from shops, restaurants, entertainment and the central Leeds train station,” explained Doug.

Apart from Knight Frank, Fox Lloyd Jones and AC7 have been appointed to market the building, with floorplates available from 3,000 sq ft.
Clegg Construction was appointed as main contractor to deliver the scheme, while the rest of the project team includes DLA Architecture, Quod, civil and structural engineer Roscoe, service engineer Thornley & Lumb, Axi interiors, fire engineer BB7, Hydrock, and Ridge.